Forget Resolutions, Wait Till You See How Easy This Is (And It Works!)

Don’t we all want to make a change or two? I guess it’s human nature. “Quit smoking” went on my annual list for what, 12 years. And when we call something a new year’s resolution, aren’t we insinuating that boom, it’s done! Well, it wasn’t until I let God make the difference.

Changes aren’t easy, but something happened when I started including God.

He can do things we can’t. I don’t know how, but when I asked Him to help me quit smoking, He took my desire for cigarettes away.

When He does what He does, things change.

So don’t forget: Your relationship with God is your superpower!

Image by TK Hammonds on Unsplash.

And God is so funny!

As I typed the introduction, a friend posted a song on my Facebook page. I listened to it and then decided to turn the music off, but the title of the next song caught my attention and made me laugh out loud.

Because once again, God spoke the next words of our on-going conversation in a surprising way. A chat with Him is like a treasure hunt.

You see, I’d been wondering what I’d call this thing I’m about to share with you. And when I saw the name of that song, I screamed, “That’s it!”

So fellow superhero, let me show you what I learned

As I wrote my memoir, I studied the craft of writing by reading book after book. Every time I came up short. How was I going to learn how to “show don’t tell” and make my characters come aliveon the page, and . . . and . . . and.

I wrote everything I wished I could do into a prayer, like this:

Raw chicken, that was a funny God story, too.

Writing that book was taking forever. I just wanted to call it done.

Inside, I heard the voice I’d come to recognize as God’s, “Are you willing to let it take the time it takes?” Yeah, that sure wasn’t me.

God and I had been talking about how I always hurry. Since He’d given the time and place to write, I felt like I’d better get cracking and whip it out, but that’s not what He was showing me.

He knows I love chicken curry. That’s what came to mind next. Inside, I heard, “Would you serve guests chicken curry before it was done?”

Gross, would I serve a dish with raw chicken in it, no-o-o!

So every time I got tempted to quit too soon, God would whisper, “chicken curry,” and put a smile on my face even though it meant more work.

Each time I had a meltdown, I threw up on the page.

As I realized more and more things I didn’t know how to do when it came to writing, I’d add them to my prayer list. Every couple of months, I’d print out an updated copy and put it in my Bible.

After I hung out with God each morning, I’d glance at the list, maybe remind Him.

Have you ever read the Bible story about the widow who kept nagging the judge to settle a case in her favor? It’s called: The Parable of the Persistent Widow.

In Luke 18, Jesus was teaching his friends that they should always pray and never give up. He used this woman as an example. The judge finally caved because he wanted her to quit bugging him.

After Jesus told His friends the story, He said, “Won’t God protect his chosen ones who pray to him day and night? Won’t he be concerned for them? He will surely hurry and help them.” (Luke 18:7-8, Contemporary English Version)

We are who Jesus was talking about!

So I’d look at my list and remind God. Ideas, you could call them mine, but I think they were His because they seemed to drop into my mind without any train of thought. It’s like He was teaching me step by step.

Let God Make the Difference

What have you got on the horizon? Maybe you need to throw up on the page, too.

What if God was going to give you everything you asked for and all you had to do was make a list? Weirdly enough, that’s sort of what it was like for me. Not that everything was perfect, but as I wrote it all out and let go, I had a sense of peace.

And thatpeace that passes all understanding rocks!

Image by Korda Vahle on Pixaby.

Here’s what seals the deal

One thing I learned is I can’t, but We (God and I together make a capital w) can!

Over the years, people had shared God’s word with me, you know Bible verses that seemed to address what I was going through. It’s like they were saying, “Stick this on it and everything will be fine.”

But that didn’t always work. Here’s what I keep talking about, the thing that works.

When I first started reading the Bible, I came across a suggestion to tape the promises I wanted to get inside me. Like a dog with a bone, no one could pry them away if they tried.

I decided to try this idea.

The first time I listened to my recording and heard, “I will never leave or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5, and Joshua 1:5. That’s one of those things the Bible says all the time.) Anyway, I nodded my head and thought right. Then I realized I really had come up with verses I didn’t yet believe.

In the next couple of weeks, I listened to the 5-minute tape as I fell asleep at night and then again as I woke in the morning. It wasn’t very long until I was like, “I know that. I know that and I know that!”

That’s when I decided it was time for a new tape because these promises had gotten in.

When we change our understanding, we change our actions.

Once I knew that I knew that I knew God was for me and He wasn’t going anywhere, I began to trust Him. We’ve built on that ever since.

So I asked 4 people to name a struggle they have.

I told them I’d make an audio clip of promises that would settle an issue for them, too.

All 4 sent me back the exact same word:

Couldn’t we all use a little less of that and a little more peace?

Here’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to make a 3-minute audio clip of 14 verses and share it. If you’d like more peace, you can listen to it here or record it onto another device.

Image by Frantisek Duris on Unsplash.

Don’t forget, it takes a little while, but no extra time. You can play it while you’re driving or cooking.

And just so you know, I can’t wait to hear your story!

So how do we prophesy our promise?

I’ve recorded the verses as “I statements.”

And by that, I mean Philippians 4:6 says: “Be anxious for nothing . . .” (NIV). Instead of that, I recorded, “I will not be anxious about anything . . .” So as we come into agreement with the things God promises, we prophesy our promise.

Timing, yes! I remember I knew God had this thing for me one time. I can’t remember exactly what it was or I’d share the details. But outside of His timing, this thing was not His will. Does that make sense?

The thing was His will, but the timing was just as important as the thing was.

I also love the Prophesy our Promises thought. It’s a nugget to tuck away and I know it’ll be God’s words to nudge me into letting His word speak into the moments. The song you linked to, is wonderful, too. I also listened to the Praise Before My Breakthrough song. Both songs couldn’t have been more timely. Thank you for your faithfulness, Elizabeth.

I was just reading Luke 5:16 about how Jesus often withdrew to pray and I thought: If He had to get away from everything to calm His mind and make space to hear what God had to say to Him, how much more do we need to do that?